EgyptianBeer: 
(sfx: egyptian music turning into bar scene) 
     ARCHAEOLOGISTS WHO STUDY ANCIENT EGYPT OFTEN STUDY HOW THE EGYPTIANS
CREATED SUCH IMPRESSIVE THINGS LIKE THE PYRAMIDS, THE SPHYNX, AND. . . WELL, BEER. 
IT TURNS OUT THAT YOUR AVERAGE EGYPTIAN ENJOYED A MUG OF BEER AS MUCH AS WE
DO TODAY.  DELWEN SAMUEL AT CAMBRIDGE HAS NOW FIGURED OUT WHAT
INGREDIENTS WENT INTO THE EGYPTIAN BREW AND WHAT RECIPE THEY FOLLOWED. 
SAMUEL IS AN ARCHAEOBOTANIST, USED TO STUDYING ANCIENT PLANTS--SO SHE
EXAMINED JUST WHAT CEREALS AND GRAINS THE EGYPTIANS USED TO BREW, BY LOOKING
AT 2000 YEAR OLD BEER RESIDUES UNDER AN ELECTRON MICROSCOPE.

     Samuel: "Use a scanning electron microscope and you can get vastly improved
views of the crumb, it allows you to see the microstructure. . . Some example of the kind
of thing that can be seen, yeast cells, only 5 microns in diamter. . . and starch granules
which are also very small." 

     THE INCREDIBLE POWER OF THE ELECTRON MICROSCOPE SHOWED SAMUEL THE
SHAPES AND SIZES OF THE STARCH AND YEAST IN THE BEER.  AND SHE DECIDED TO TEST THE
CURRENT THEORY THAT THE EGYPTIANS MADE THEIR BEER BY MIXING BREAD WITH WATER
AND THEN LETTING IT FERMENT.

     Samuel: "I found quite a different method of brewing.  no evidence for brewing
with bread at all.  I found that ancient Egyptians divided [their grain] into two batches,
one batch they ground up and mixed with water and the second they ground up
added water and then heated it . . . and then mixed those two batches. . the liquid was
very rich in sugars and starches was then fermented by adding yeast."

     THAT SEEMS LIKE A LOT TO FIGURE OUT JUST FROM LOOKING THROUGH A
MICROSCOPE.

     Samuel: "Luckily there are a lot of resudies available and thay aren't all at the
finished stage.  a lot of these residues are at intermediate steps of brewing. "

     SAMUEL PASSED HER RECIPE ON TO AN ENGLISH BREWING COMPANY AND THEY
MADE QUITE A TASTY KING TUTT ALE.